A Wedding in Africa (The Africa Series) (20 page)

Eli smiled reassuringly. ‘Everything is fine. I’m here to discuss the animal hospital that Tate is building. I shall be working there when the sanctuary’s up and running.’

Lacey felt her head swim and she held on to the back of a chair for support.

‘It’s such a wonderful project,’ Eli continued, his eyes shining with enthusiasm. ‘We’ll be able to do so much for animals who’ve been injured in the bush, or orphans who’ve lost their mothers. Tate wasn’t sure he could really achieve his lifelong dream, but then he came up with the idea of building luxury lodges to fund the programme’s running costs. And now, at long last, we’re actually ready to start furnishing the surgery where I’ll be working.’

Lacey could feel the tears prickling at the back of her eyes, the guilt gnawing in the pit of her stomach. So that was why Tate wanted to make as much money as possible. Not to fund a luxury lifestyle, but to pay for the care and treatment of wild animals. No wonder he was so keen to make sure the lodges were top notch. They were meant to bring in money to help keep Tate’s dream alive. How could she possibly have misunderstood this man so badly? How could she possibly be so wrong? But it was too late now. She’d burned all her bridges; cut off any chance of finding happiness, here at Matshana, with the man she loved.

‘What will it be called – the animal sanctuary?’ she whispered, struggling to keep her voice even.

‘It will be called
Londolozi
, which means Protector of all Living Things. It’s a good Zulu name, because it sums up the purpose of the animal sanctuary. And it sums up the nature of the man who is Tate Maddox. A man that I shall be proud to work with on such a worthwhile project.’

Lacey sat out on the veranda for almost hour, drinking lemonade and enjoying the majestic outlines of the Mpumalanga Mountains that formed a stunning backdrop to the Sabie River valley. She took as long as she could to finish her lemonade, then took a long, leisurely stroll around the gardens. But it only served to delay the inevitable. It was pointless trying to stop time; to avoid the moment when she’d have to go back to her room and finish packing. And she knew that the time was fast approaching when she’d have no choice other than to get in her car, drive away from Matshana and catch a private plane back to… to what? God alone knew the answer to that!

Back in her room, her suitcase was still open, but empty, on the bed. Reluctantly, and with a heavy heart, she took the little pile of clothes and began folding them neatly – for the umpteenth time! She’d just finished checking the wardrobe when she heard a tentative knock on the door.

‘Tate!’ she cried, closing the wardrobe door. ‘You’re like some feline predator! You always manage to appear without making a sound.’

‘I’m a true bushman,’ Tate grinned proudly. ‘If I were an animal, I would be able to stalk my prey for hours, then pounce on them without them knowing what hit them!’

They both laughed, but quickly fell silent, neither one knowing what more to say. Both stared forlornly at the empty suitcase and the pile of clothes waiting to be packed. Both knew exactly what that meant.

‘Did your meeting go well?’ Lacey asked in a bid to ease the tension between them.

 

‘Really well. I gather you met Eli, the vet.’

 

‘I did. He was lovely.’

‘He’s one of the finest vets in this part of Africa. We’re lucky to have him on board. He understands wild animals better than anyone else I know.’

‘He told me about
Londolozi
. I just wanted to say I think it’s a wonderful idea.’

Tate looked embarrassed. ‘It’s been a dream of mine since I was a kid. I saw a documentary once where this baby elephant had lost its mother. It was looking for her, chasing after her, but it was going in the wrong direction. It was going to die out there, all alone in the bush without its mother. That image had a real impact on me, and I swore then that I would do everything I could to help orphaned or sick animals in the future.’

Lacey smiled up at him. ‘That is such a wonderful dream to have, Tate
– and such a worthwhile thing to do. With the income from the lodges,
Londolozi
will make a huge difference to the animals, and the people, of this region. You must be so proud of yourself.’

‘Yeah. It makes up for having a few tourists knocking about the place from time to time. But, anyway, Matshana’s so vast that there’s plenty of room for all of us. We won’t be getting under each other’s feet, that’s for sure.’

Guilt spread through Lacey’s veins like red hot mercury when she realised how wrong she’d been about this man. She stared at the floor, unable to meet his eyes for shame, but Tate tilted her chin with his forefinger so that she was compelled to meet his gaze. ‘Maybe you could come back and do an article about
Londolozi
when it’s up and running?’ There was a whisper of hope in his voice.

Lacey shook her head. ‘I shan’t be working for Style Concepts any more. I’m not sure that my father and Mortimer would welcome me back on board after I broke off the engagement and embarrassed them in Cape Town society. In fact, I’m going to be moving out of Cape Town once I’ve tied up all my loose ends there.’

‘Moving out of Cape Town?’ Tate was shocked. ‘But where will you go?’

Lacey shrugged. ‘I’m not sure. Somewhere quiet and beautiful; somewhere I can be at peace with myself and find the time to finish my book. I know it sounds silly, Tate, but that book means so much to me. I
have
to write it, even if I never manage to get it published. I just
have
to finish it.’

Tate took her hands and pulled her closer. ‘You could always stay here… just until you’ve finished the book, of course. Matshana would be the perfect place to write about Africa.’

‘Oh Tate…’ Lacey’s voice dropped to a whimper as she leaned her head against his chest. She was trying to hide her tears, but Tate knew that she was crying. ‘No-one has ever spoken so positively about my book before. People usually dismiss it, or tease me about it. I feel a bit foolish, and a bit vain, whenever I talk about it. Not being able to share it with anyone makes it so… so hard to keep going.’

Tate cupped the back of her head in his hand and pressed her closer so that she could cry against him in private. ‘You are
not
foolish and you are certainly
not
vain,’ he said over the top of her head. ‘Do you want to know what I think, sweetheart?’

Lacey gulped back the tears and curved her neck to look up at him.

‘I think you’re one of the bravest, most beautiful people I’ve ever met. And I think it’s amazing that you’ve actually been able to sit down and write a book. Lots of people say they want to write a book, but how many people actually sit down and write one? Huh? That puts you right up there in the big league in my eyes, sweetheart! Now I meant what I said when I offered you a place to stay until you finish it. So, what do you say?’

Lacey stepped back, away from the powerful frame and the intoxicating smell of this man. But then, sadly, she shook her head. ‘Tate, that’s so kind of you. Really it is. But I couldn’t stay here. Not now. Not after all the terrible things I said about you. Now that Nandi has told me the truth about Themba, I feel ashamed. I couldn’t possibly forgive myself for all those terrible accusations I threw at you. And I certainly wouldn’t expect you to forgive me either.’

Tate was shocked. ‘Hang on – did you say that Nandi had told you the truth? What truth? What did Nandi tell you?’

‘She told me that Themba is your brother’s child; not yours. She said that you’d promised to wait until she was ready to tell Themba the truth about his father. She also told me about your wife, Miranda, and … and your brother…’

Tate forked his fingers through his hair. It was hard to take it all in. Nandi knew how to read people. It was a gift she had. She could see deep into people’s souls; deep into the places where other people couldn’t see. And she’d decided to trust Lacey with the truth about Themba!

If Nandi trusted Lacey, then surely he could trust Lacey, too? Maybe he didn’t have to hold back; he didn’t have to worry about getting hurt again. He didn’t have to worry about Lacey finding out about the past, did he? There was nothing left to find out. She seemed to know everything, and dear old Nandi had happily filled in any blanks that were left. Now, Lacey had the complete picture.

But rather than using the truth against him to make money from it, Lacey just understood and accepted everything. In fact, weird though it was, this beautiful young writer from Cape Town seemed to know and understand him better than anyone he’d ever met in his entire life.

So maybe that was why he was so head over heels in love with her! He gripped her shoulders so that he could search her eyes with his own. Lacey blinked like an innocent puppy, then frowned in confusion.

‘Tate?’ she queried, not sure what was going on behind the gunmetal gaze that bore into her, but enjoying the feeling of being sucked into those deep, molten pools.

‘Don’t go, Lacey. Stay here at Matshana. Will you do that? For me?’

Lacey’s emotions were strained to breaking point. She wanted to reach out to him, but she knew that there’d been too many misunderstandings between them. She’d accused him of some terrible things. How could she enjoy his hospitality knowing something like that? And, besides, she’d have to leave one day. As soon as the book was finished, he’d said. After that, she’d have to open her suitcase again and try to find somewhere to start anew. She could barely cope with leaving Tate today; how could she possibly be expected to leave Tate Maddox, and Matshana, twice in one lifetime?

‘Tate…’ she said decisively. ‘It’s a lovely offer, really it is, and I’d truly love to stay here to write the book, but I can’t. I really can’t. It wouldn’t be fair.’

‘Fair?’ Tate echoed. ‘What’s fair got to do with it? Why wouldn’t it be fair?’

Lacey took a deep breath and dropped her hands to her sides. She was grateful that Tate was still grasping her shoulders in case she buckled under the weight of her emotions. ‘I made a terrible mistake thinking that you were Themba’s father, and that you were only building the lodges to make loads of money for yourself. I seem to have been wrong about everything. Why… I even thought that you were in love with Tilly when I first met you!’

‘Tilly?’ Tate threw back his head and laughed. ‘You thought that Tilly and I…? Hey, Tilly and I are just good mates. We’ve known each other since we were kids. Oh, I know she’d probably like it to be more, but I’ve never led her on in that way. Never!’

‘I know. Tilly did tell me, but… well, she’s so beautiful that it’s easy to see why I thought you were in love with her.’

Suddenly, Tate went quiet and his hands grasped Lacey even tighter. ‘I could never love any woman who was only interested in parties and fancy clothes. I could only ever love a woman who understands me, who loves Africa, who loves Matshana as much as I do. I could only fall in love with a woman who was bright, funny and stunningly beautiful; a woman who understood my dream about
Londolozi
because she had a special dream of her own. In short, my darling Lacey… a woman like you.’

Lacey’s eyes widened as Tate moved closer.

‘It’s
you
that I love, Lacey.
You
! Get it? No-one else, but you. And do you know what? I’ve just realised that I can’t live here anymore without you. Matshana needs you. I need you, for God’s sake. I love you.’

Lacey flushed as a wave of heat coursed through her body. She splayed her fingers and pushed against his chest, so that she could tilt her head to look up at him. ‘Do you really mean that, Tate?’

Tate nodded.

‘Because I love you, too,’ Lacey whispered, hardly believing that she was able to utter those few precious words. ‘I love you with all my heart, Tate. I’ve known it since the first day I met you, but I’ve been too scared to admit it – even to myself.’

‘So does that mean you’ll stay here at Matshana? With me?’

Lacey giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck. ‘Where else would I go? My home has always been here at Matshana; it’s just taken me a long time to find it. And my heart? Well, that’s yours, my darling - now and forever.’

It took Tate no more than a second to sweep the empty suitcase off the bed and pull Lacey down on to the cool sheets beside him. Lacey arched her body towards him, needing to feel every inch of her handsome lover pressed against her. She closed her eyes and breathed in the manly smell of him and the sweet Matshana perfume that filled the room. And she knew, at long last, that her heart had finally found its way home.

EPILOGUE
‘You keep hitting my head with your hat!’ Tate whispered in Lacey’s ear. Lacey giggled. ‘I know. Sorry! It is a bit big, isn’t it? But that’s what women do when they go to a wedding. They buy themselves a big hat!’

‘Well you’ve certainly managed to achieve that, my darling. In fact, I don’t know why I bothered erecting this thatched awning for Nandi’s wedding. We could have easily sheltered from the sun under the brim of that hat!’

‘It doesn’t look silly, does it? It took me ages to decide whether it was the right one for me. Believe it or not, I’ve never actually been to a traditional African wedding before. I wanted to make sure I dressed appropriately.’

Tate glanced sideways at Lacey’s beautiful cream dress-coat, shot with gold thread, and the tiny amber necklace she was wearing, and his heart missed a beat. His survey then followed the line of her long shapely legs, crossed elegantly at the ankle, and he wondered whether even Nandi, the bride, could match the loveliness of this woman.

‘You look absolutely stunning, sweetheart. I reckon it’ll be a toss up between you and the bride.’

‘Thank you, kind sir,’ Lacey replied, flirtatiously. ‘But I reckon Nandi will win hands down. Actually, you look pretty dapper yourself in that suit and tie. You brush up quite well, all things considered!’

Tate grinned and threaded his arm around the back of Lacey’s chair, pulling her closer as they sat, shaded from the late afternoon sun, by the spacious awning. He’d pushed the boat out for Nandi and Thomas’s wedding, decorating the grounds of Matshana with exotic flowers, and bringing in the finest caterers of African cuisine that he could find. They’d prepared huge platters of uncut cheeses, filled wooden bowls with pawpaw, mangoes, marula fruit, coconut and m’Chakata. There were bowls filled with clean honeycombs and there was a delicious aroma of hog roast and sweet potatoes.